Let's talk jacking points and jack stands...again

[Mk7user]

Can I place a hand jack or jackstands @ these 4 points in red where professional lift pads are placed?

Photo by whispaz

 

[snobrdrdan]

So just to clarify, when jacking up I've simply been using the included scissor jack without a hockey puck. Should I throw away my car and get a new one or is it OK to skip the puck?

You can't use a hockey puck with the OEM jack. The OEM jack has a groove/channel for the lift point, whereas most floor jacks are flat
You won't damage anything with the OEM jack though

 

[Garynovis]

Yeah, i have the Audi pads installed

At the back you remove those two black plugs, and install the jack pad in the two holes, and then to jack the rear of car you jack it up on that point.

so, I now have the car jacked up in the air, and the trolley jack is where those two plugs are

Question is, where do I now place the axle stands?

No, there is a pinch weld back there too. That's the proper jacking point (unless you have the pads installed, but then why would you have asked about the rear?). You can then drop the car down and lay the stand on the spot I pictured from Kevin's thread.

 

[snobrdrdan]

On the pinch welds
Marked with a little notch/arrow on the rocker panel

 

[Garynovis]

On the pinch welds
Marked with a little notch/arrow on the rocker panel

Is that a reply to me? I don't like jacking the car on the pinch welds, so not sure about using them for the axle stands, I find them scary thin

 

[ReadTheBook]

What is that spot that is pictured there? Hard to get context from that photo. Is that a frame rail? It's safe to place a jack stand there, even without any jack pads installed?

Yeah man. I had my car sitting on 4 jack stands to paint my calipers as I said. The "pads" are just plastic pieces that fit in there... My neighbor also used these spots when he installed my springs. He's been wrenching on VW/Audi/Porsche for 10+ years. Just look under the car just a bit further in from where the rear pinch weld is, thats where the spot is located. It's very easy to see.

Don't overthink it and if you're worried about scratches and stuff just put a rag over top of your jack stands.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Here's a photo

 

[snobrdrdan]

Is that a reply to me? I don't like jacking the car on the pinch welds, so not sure about using them for the axle stands, I find them scary thin

That's what they are there for though and where a shop/dealer would put the lift pads at on a 2 post lift

I use a hockey puck on the jack too, never had an issue.
If I put a jack stand under the pinch weld, I usually put a towel over the stand to protect the body/lift point too (so it's not metal on metal)

 

[Garynovis]

Yeah, I know that is where you are supposed to use, I am just used to jacking up on a nice big flat surface and having the same for the stands, and on a car weighing half that of the golf, so that tiny thin seam scares me.

Guess I will have to get used to trusting them pinch welds....

I have rubberised metal caps made up for my axle stands so they should hopefully be fine.

That's what they are there for though and where a shop/dealer would put the lift pads at on a 2 post lift

I use a hockey puck on the jack too, never had an issue.
If I put a jack stand under the pinch weld, I usually put a towel over the stand to protect the body/lift point too (so it's not metal on metal)

 

[pcguru83]

Finally got the GTI up in the air for the first time today to install my new Helix headlights from OPD. I ended up going for the red striped ones, which meant I needed a new grille to get the alignment right with the stripe. Deutsche Auto Parts happens to be local to me, and Paul was in the shop when I went by to pick up the grille. I explained what I had (two jack stands and a floor jack) and his suggestion was to jack it up from the rear, which would require a little extra height.

So that's exactly what I did. I jacked up one side with the floor jack from the rear, then placed the jack stand under the front pinch weld with a shop towel in between. Repeated for the opposite side.

This seems to have worked great. It does require a little extra height to get the jack stand under the front, but it all seemed stable. No damage to the pinch welds at all, they held up perfectly. I did use a hockey puck with a slit down the middle though on my floor jack. Pretty sure this is the method I'll continue to use from here on out.

 

[casualsurfer]

Finally got the GTI up in the air for the first time today to install my new Helix headlights from OPD. I ended up going for the red striped ones, which meant I needed a new grille to get the alignment right with the stripe. Deutsche Auto Parts happens to be local to me, and Paul was in the shop when I went by to pick up the grille. I explained what I had (two jack stands and a floor jack) and his suggestion was to jack it up from the rear, which would require a little extra height.

So that's exactly what I did. I jacked up one side with the floor jack from the rear, then placed the jack stand under the front pinch weld with a shop towel in between. Repeated for the opposite side.

This seems to have worked great. It does require a little extra height to get the jack stand under the front, but it all seemed stable. No damage to the pinch welds at all, they held up perfectly. I did use a hockey puck with a slit down the middle though on my floor jack. Pretty sure this is the method I'll continue to use from here on out.

How long did it take you to install the headlights?

 

[pcguru83]

How long did it take you to install the headlights?

About 1.5 hours. Probably would have only been about an hour if I had just went ahead and removed the whole bumper. You can do it without removing it completely, but I had a time getting the headlights out and back in (even with all the bolts out) with the bumper still there. You'll have much more room to work with and be less likely to scratch the lights if you just take the whole thing off.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Definitely take the bumper off. I tired not to and it was more trouble than it's worth.

 

[aunsafe2015]

Finally got the GTI up in the air for the first time today to install my new Helix headlights from OPD. I ended up going for the red striped ones, which meant I needed a new grille to get the alignment right with the stripe. Deutsche Auto Parts happens to be local to me, and Paul was in the shop when I went by to pick up the grille. I explained what I had (two jack stands and a floor jack) and his suggestion was to jack it up from the rear, which would require a little extra height.



So that's exactly what I did. I jacked up one side with the floor jack from the rear, then placed the jack stand under the front pinch weld with a shop towel in between. Repeated for the opposite side.



This seems to have worked great. It does require a little extra height to get the jack stand under the front, but it all seemed stable. No damage to the pinch welds at all, they held up perfectly. I did use a hockey puck with a slit down the middle though on my floor jack. Pretty sure this is the method I'll continue to use from here on out.

When you say you jacked it up from the rear do you mean you just used the rear pinch weld? Or is there a different rear spot you can use to jack?

 

[Sportwagen SEL]

Sorry for the newbie question but I can't figure out how to go from jacking up one corner of the car with a jack, and then somehow transferring the exact same point over to a jack stand so I can then use the jack for the other sides. So according to these pictures I'm looking at you can jack up the car under those pinch welds? (I don't know where they are, are they near the jack points?)